If you do decide to move out of your current home without hiring the services of a professional moving company, then you must clearly realize that moving by yourself does not mean that you’ll have to do it all entirely on your own.
Your family members will probably be there to give you a hand during that tough transitional period but still, organizing a self-move involves, at least in most cases, asking friends to help you out.
Remember that asking your friends to help you move happens to be a big favor, so you have to have the right approach. In reality, you’ll be asking each one of your pals to sacrifice for you TOO MANY HOURS of their time, sometimes even an ENTIRE DAY. On top of that, you’ll be asking your friends to help you lift and carry a multitude of heavy things around, and then load those heavyweight furniture pieces and filled boxes into a moving vehicle.
Read on to learn what to know when asking friends to help you move – the top 12 pieces of advice that will guarantee you the friendly assistance you’ll desperately need.
1. ASK YOURSELF if you really have to ask your friends for help
If you’re seriously thinking about reaching out to your friends for help on the day of your move, or maybe even before that, then you should have already decided that a DIY move is the best way for you to move your belongings from Point A to Point B.
Solving the Move Yourself vs Hire Movers dilemma is not always easy, and it takes some serious thinking to come to the right answer. It’ll help if you have previous experience in moving house by yourself, confidence that you can manage it without the pros, and of course – a bunch of good and loyal friends who will answer your bugle call for help.
Still, you should think about whether it’s really necessary that you bother your pals when you can hire cheap moving labor when organizing a self-move. Moving labor professionals will be ready to give you a hand during that tough period and will charge you specifically for the job you need help with.
So, don’t ask friends to help you move… unless you’re moving on a really tight budget and can’t really afford to hire moving labor services no matter how affordable they may be.
2. ASK YOUR FRIENDS for moving help as early as possible
The first thing you’ll need to know when you’re trying to get your friends to help you move is that they must all be managing busy schedules and their time is just as valuable as yours. Therefore, it’s important that you show consideration towards your potential helpers by contacting them as soon as your plan of action has taken form.
You don’t want to wait until the last possible moment and expect them to cancel their plans in order to rush to your rescue – that would be really inconsiderate. Instead, get in touch with your pals and ask them for aid as soon as you know your move-out date in the hope that they will be willing to include you in their respective agendas.
MOVING CHECKLIST: interactive, printable, unabridged
3. ASK YOUR PALS for assistance in person, if possible
Asking friends to help you move is tough, so make sure you do it right.
HOW you ask your friends for moving help matters more than you think. Of course, the message is clear – you’re asking your closest ones for assistance in packing up your things, disassembling, lifting and carrying heavy furniture and hauling those heavyweight cardboard boxes filled with various items. But it’s how you present that message that will make a difference in most cases.
For best results, make an effort to ask your pals for that move-related favor in person because that way you can just talk it out and they will know that you do need their help.
If you can’t meet your friends in person, then the next best thing is to talk to them over the phone.
Whenever possible, avoid using a soulless post on the social media networks to get the needed helping hands. Why? That cry for help is too impersonal and unfair to your buddies, and most importantly – easy to be ignored.
4. BE FRANK about why you need your friends’ help
Getting friends to help you move may turn out to be more difficult than you expected so you might get tempted to downplay their roles in the home moving process. Why would you withhold essential information from your best friends? For fear of being turned down, of course.
Not being honest with your pals about what it is that you need them to help you out with is a bad idea. Eventually, they are going to find out that you haven’t told them the entire truth and it’s going to be an awkward situation for you.
So, be completely open with your friends so that they know what they will be up against when they show up. If you have plenty of heavy furniture for moving, then it’s only fair that they need to know about it so that they are mentally ready for the challenge.
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5. ASSURE your friends it won’t be just hard work
In your friends’ minds, your request for moving help will most likely be work, work and then, even more heavy work for them. They know there’s going to be hours of packing, plenty of large furniture pieces to be carried around, and an endless supply of boxes to be loaded up safely onto the moving vehicle.
So, it’s your job to assure your friendly helpers that while there will undoubtedly be some hard work, it won’t be just that. Ideally, you’ll want them to understand that there will also be tasty food, refreshing drinks, and music while the move-related tasks are being taken care of, one by one.
After all, would you be too eager to go help a friend if you knew there would be nothing but hard work for hours on end? Put yourself in your mates’ position to get a better idea about how to formulate and present your request.
6. GET HOLD of the right moving equipment
Get the proper moving equipment before your friends arrive at your home.
To make things easier and safer for yourself and your helpers, one of your top priority tasks is to provide the required moving equipment to lift and move heavy objects without any danger of property damage or injury to the people involved in your DIY move.
First of all, you’re going to need a moving dolly – a furniture dolly (flat platform, 4 wheels) or an appliance dolly (L-shaped lever, 2 wheels). You can rent the one you need, or both, from a local moving company or a truck rental company. Or you can choose to purchase one either from one of the above-mentioned professional companies or from a home improvement store.
And secondly, you’re also going to need furniture pads for easy and damage-free sliding of large and heavy furniture and appliances, as well as moving straps or strong rope for fixing and stabilizing the load on the dolly.
How to pack heavy items for moving
7. GET the proper packing supplies
In case you need your friends to also help you out with packing (usually the case when you’re far behind your moving timeline), then you need to be ready for your friendly packers. Organizing a PACKING PARTY is always a good idea simply because the name party will give that extra incentive for your pals to look forward to your fun event.
However, getting ready for your non-professional packers is mostly about making sure that you’ve got the necessary packing materials to get the job done faster and without any interruptions.
Moving boxes should be your biggest concern here – cardboard containers of different sizes that will hold and protect your belongings on the road. The easiest way is to purchase all your packing boxes brand new, but that’ll cost you a lot of money. So, consider all your viable options to get moving boxes for free.
Also, you’ll need to prepare enough quantities of bubble wrap and packing paper for a problem-free packing experience with your friends.
Where to get free moving boxes
8. ARRANGE for a moving truck before your pals arrive
It would be really bad to get your friends to help you move only for them to find out that you’re yet not ready for their assistance. Don’t forget that having your friends over is a big thing for them and you’ll definitely want to make the most of their willingness to give you a hand.
Now that you’ve secured the proper moving equipment and the right type and quantity of packing materials, the last critical task to take care of is to make sure you’ve got a moving vehicle ready to take your belongings to the final destination.
Depending on the move distance, you can choose to borrow a pick-up truck from a friend or rent a moving van from a local truck rental company. Just make sure you’ve researched your options and found the most convenient and affordable means of transportation to get your items to the new home.
10 Tips for renting a moving truck for your DIY move
9. VALUE your friends’ time by having a plan of action
Once you’ve managed to get some of your friends to say YES to your request for help, you’re going to need to make sure that things will be running smoothly during that short stint of hard work and possibly some fun and entertainment shared among good friends.
Have a plan of action, a moving day strategy that will minimize the time your friends will spend helping you out.
One of the worst-case scenarios when asking friends to lend you a helping hand when moving is to waste their time. So, be 100% ready for their arrival by having a good plan of action beforehand.
Instruct each helper on what you expect them to do and appoint the move-related tasks considering their abilities and physical strength. Give clear directions but do it in the nicest and friendliest way possible – remember that you’re not their boss and you won’t even be paying for their time, at least in most cases.
At the end of the day, you can be sure that your friends will appreciate the fact that you’ve been ready for them and have not wasted their time with chaotic and disorganized actions and decisions.
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10. MAKE IT FUN for everyone
When friends help you move, it’s up to you to make the occasion equally productive and fun. And when you do your homework right before your helpers make an appearance, then you should get that productive advantage that you seek.
So far, so good. Now it’s time to think about the fun part as well.
Prepare snacks so that your friends don’t get too hungry while helping you out with various chores around the home. You can either rely on some home-made delicacies for your pals, or you can order some tasty food from a local restaurant. Also, stock up on different types of beverages and refreshments to quench the thirst of your helpers, especially if it’s a summer move.
As far as pure entertainment, playing some good music in the background is always a good idea to keep up the spirits. During meaningful breaks, you can think of some fun games, including popular board games, to introduce some pure fun into the moving process.
11. PREPARE modest thank-you gifts for your friends
It should all be a positive experience for you and your friends: you should feel grateful that you have such good friends who are ready to help you out when you’re in a tough situation, like moving from one home to another.
And now, it’s time to show the gratitude and appreciation you feel toward your pals. How do you do that? What to give friends who help you move?
One way is to send thank you notes or postcards to each of your friends after the move is over. Make those notes personal and meaningful, showing how grateful you are for their timely assistance.
Another way is to come up with some thank you gifts which you can give at the end of the day. Those gifts can be things you yourself made with your own hands or some personalized items that you know each friendly mover will appreciate.
12. BE READY to return the favor
Is that YOU, returning the favor? That’s right, it’s the right thing to do.
Another way to thank friends who help you move is to reassure them that you’re now ready to return the favor when the right time comes. In fact, offering your own moving help in the future is more important than you think – it’ll let your friends know that you do appreciate their efforts and sacrifice.
Everybody knows that A friend in need is a friend indeed.
And yet, for a number of known and unknown reasons, you may not manage to gather up your bunch of loyal friends to help you move. And if that’s the case, then your safest bet is to bet on professional movers with their experience, expertise, and competence.
